Singletary v. Dist. of Columbia

• Decision Date: 07 October 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 09–0752 (ABJ).
• Citation: 800 F.Supp.2d 58
• Parties: Charles SINGLETARY, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

800 F.Supp.2d 58

Charles SINGLETARY, Plaintiff,

v.DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 09–0752 (ABJ).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Aug. 1, 2011.Opinion Denying Reconsideration Oct. 7, 2011.

Neal Andrew Goldfarb, Butzel Long Tighe Patton, PLLC, Stephen C. Leckar, Shanis & Peltzman, Steven Roy Kiersh, Steven R. Kiersh, Edward Charles Sussman, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Dwayne C. Jefferson, D.C. Attorney General's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

AMY BERMAN JACKSON, District Judge.

This case presents the question of whether the District of Columbia can be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for a parole revocation decision made by the District of Columbia Board of Parole that violated plaintiff's right to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the municipality can be held liable for the unconstitutional revocation of Mr. Singletary's parole. Therefore, plaintiff's motion for summary judgment will be granted, and the defendant's cross motion will be denied.

I. BACKGROUNDA. Factual Background

In 1990, plaintiff Charles Singletary was released on parole after serving more than seven years of a nine to twenty-seven year sentence for armed robbery. Singletary Decl. ¶ 2.¹ He remained on parole successfully for five years, but in June of 1995, he was arrested as an alleged participant in the murder of Leroy Houtman. Id. ¶ 3–4; Pl.'s Interrog. Resp. at No. 7. The charges were soon dropped at the preliminary hearing, and he was never indicted by a grand jury. Singletary Decl. ¶ 4. Yet a year later, the District of Columbia Board of Parole (“the Board”) held a hearing to consider whether to revoke his parole. Id. ¶ 6; Pl.'s Interrog. Resp. at Nos. 8. The evidence presented at the parole revocation hearing was limited to (1) a narrative given by the prosecutor and (2) testimony by a police detective. Singletary, 685 F.Supp.2d at 84. Neither of these individuals had first-hand knowledge of the facts, and their testimony was based on statements made by two individuals who themselves had no first-hand information, but rather, reported on conversations with the woman who was convicted of conspiracy in connection with the murder. Id. The Board revoked Singletary's parole and he was was re-incarcerated. Id.

Singletary remained in prison for ten more years, Singletary Decl. ¶ 8, as he challenged the parole revocation in habeas proceedings first in Superior Court and then in federal court. Id. ¶ 10. The D.C. Superior Court denied Singletary's first petition for writ of habeas corpus in 1997 and that denial was upheld by the D.C. Court of Appeals. Id. In 2000, Singletary again sought habeas relief in Superior Court but the court denied his claim and the D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. Id. ¶ 11. Singletary represented himself in both of these proceedings. Id. ¶ 12.

With the assistance of a federal public defender, Singletary petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Singletary Decl. ¶ 13. That petition was denied, Singletary v. D.C. Bd. of Parole, No. 00–1263, 2003 WL 25258497 (D.D.C. Dec. 16, 2003), and Singletary appealed the decision. Singletary Decl. ¶ 14. On July 7, 2006, ten years after the plaintiff's parole had been revoked, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia finally granted relief. The Court held that the Board's decision did not comport with due process because the parole revocation was based on such a “shoddy” record that it violated Singletary's constitutional right to due process. Singletary v. Reilly, 452 F.3d 868, 869 (D.C.Cir.2006). The court ordered that Singletary be provided with a new parole revocation hearing. Singletary, 452 F.3d at 873–75.

In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeals noted that in Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that a parolee is entitled to a hearing before a final decision on revocation can be made, and it set out the minimum due process requirements for such a hearing:

(a) written notice of the claimed violations of parole; (b) disclosure to the parolee of evidence against him; (c) opportunity to be heard in person and to present witnesses and documentary evidence; (d) the right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses (unless the hearing officer specifically finds good cause for not allowing confrontation); (e) a “neutral and detached” hearing body such as a traditional parole board, members of which need not be judicial officers or lawyers; and (f) a written statement by the factfinders as to the evidence relied on and reasons for revoking parole.

Id. at 489, 92 S.Ct. 2593. According to the Court of Appeals:

Parole revocation violates due process if the decision is either totally lacking in evidentiary support or ... so irrational as to be fundamentally unfair ... [R]eliance on hearsay in parole revocations hearings is not per se impermissible. However, the use of unsubstantiated or unreliable hearsay would certainly eviscerate the safeguards guaranteed by Morrissey and Gagnon [ v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973) ].

Singletary, 452 F.3d at 872 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Thus, in a parole revocation hearing, hearsay evidence must be “both sufficient in quantity and reliability to ensure fundamental due process rights.” Id., citing Crawford v. Jackson, 323 F.3d 123, 128 (D.C.Cir.2003). The court concluded that in Singletary's case, while the quantity of the evidence was not an issue, “the hearsay presented at the hearing was not demonstrated to be reliable,” and “the Board's decision to revoke Singletary's parole was therefore ‘totally lacking in evidentiary support.’ ” Id., quoting Crawford, 323 F.3d at 129. The Court made it clear that it was not overturning the Board's decision because it had been based on hearsay; rather, it held that “the government has not established that the hearsay deemed adequate by the Board was sufficient in reliability to ensure fundamental due process rights.” Id. at 874 (internal quotation marks omitted).²

Singletary's new parole revocation hearing was held on October 30, 2006 before the United States Parole Commission. Singletary Decl. ¶ 16. The Parole Commission determined that there was insufficient evidence to permit a finding of a parole violation and reinstated Singletary to supervised release, which he has successfully completed. Id. ¶ 19. B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit on April 23, 2009, seeking money damages from the District of Columbia under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the Board's unlawful revocation of his parole. Compl. at 9 (demand for relief). The District filed a motion to dismiss [Dkt. # 6], which the Court denied on February 18, 2010, because “the District has not shown on the present record and based on the arguments presented in its Motion to Dismiss and supporting briefing that Singletary cannot succeed on his claim.” Singletary, 685 F.Supp.2d at 93. Now pending before the Court are the parties' cross motions for summary judgment [Dkt. # 30 and # 32]. The Court heard oral argument on these motions on June 20, 2011.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a).³ The party seeking summary judgment bears the “initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (internal quotation marks omitted). To defeat summary judgment, the non-moving party must “designate specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotation marks omitted). The existence of a factual dispute is insufficient to preclude summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute is “genuine” only if a reasonable fact-finder could find for the nonmoving party; a fact is only “material” if it is capable of affecting the outcome of the litigation. Id. See also Laningham v. U.S. Navy, 813 F.2d 1236, 1241 (D.C.Cir.1987).

“The rule governing cross-motions for summary judgment ... is that neither party waives the right to a full trial on the merits by filing its own motion; each side concedes that no material facts are at issue only for the purposes of its own motion.” Sherwood v. Washington Post, 871 F.2d 1144, 1148 n. 4 (D.C.Cir.1989), quoting McKenzie v. Sawyer, 684 F.2d 62, 68 n. 3 (D.C.Cir.1982). In assessing each party's motion, “[a]ll underlying facts and inferences are analyzed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” N.S. ex rel. Stein v. District of Columbia, 709 F.Supp.2d 57, 65 (D.D.C.2010), citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. ANALYSIS

A. A municipality is not immune from liability under § 1983.

Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act provides:

Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity,...